


The Three Keys

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-19
Updated: 2006-07-03
Packaged: 2019-01-19 23:44:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12420663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: A Draco Malfoy Romance/Drama - Passion, Romance, Desire, Love, Hatred, Betrayl, Suspense, Murder, Angst and DRACO NAKED...How can you NOT read this story! M/F





	1. The Dark Lord at Castle Malfoy

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

**A/N: I do not own any Harry Potter Characters, any of her  
** spells or wonderful places, things, etc.  
Any people, spells or places you donÃ•t recognize belong to me.

****

**THIS STORY IS RATED R — SO NO ONE UNDER 17 PLEASE!**

****

**Please note I do not own any of the Harry Potter  
Characters, just my humble Laurel and her family.**

****

**A quick synopsis:**

**DM/Original Character /Laurel. Romance/adventure/drama. All the usual players are here in all their glory. PS — HPB blew my fic _WAY_** **into the world of AU, so here DD  
** is alive and well, Snape is Snape and Blaise,my glorious Italian, is STILL  
Italian. If you love novel length,  
witty, snarky, introspective, heart of gold but heÃ•d never let you see it,  
Draco. Then youÃ•ll love this fic.

****

***warnings: explicit language, mild violence, and sexual  
** situations (A-la pleasing all of us reformed romance novel readers.) Any  
portion of the story containing questionable content will be CLEARLY labeled at  
the beginning of each chapter. 

****

**It will take a little time for Laurel to get to Draco, as  
** any good love story does, so please get comfy, settle in and hang on for a fun  
adventure! 

****

**Enjoy and thank you for reading! Lorett**

CHAPTER 1 — **THE DARK LORD  
AT CASTLE MALFOY**

The Dark Lord stood, a solitary figure cloaked in darkness,  
the kind of darkness that left one devoid of peace, of joy, of hope. The kind of darkness that consumed  
oneÃ•s soul — of course Voldemort had bartered his soul away long ago,  
splintered and torn it apart, so that it was lost forever. This void suited his hollow heart thoroughly.

He surveyed from the tall castle perched on a jagged,  
precipitous cliff overlooking the Scottish coast, the rugged landscape that lay  
bearing its winsome beauty for his eyes alone. The heather clad moorlands, their tall stalks ebbing and  
flowing in the breeze like the ocean below and the glens that pocked the  
scenery gouged long ago, during the ice age drew his eyes as far as he could  
see in either direction. The same  
anywhere he looked along the craggy coastline, empty, barren. This desolate place both soothed and  
wore on his patience, now though, with each passing day he grew more and more  
weary and irritated with the forced isolation. He felt his time to reclaim his rightful place as ruler of  
the wizarding world was upon him.  
His cold gaze flicked over the sparse, circular tower chamber with  
disgust and his servant Wormtail stood silently at the door, twitching  
occasionally and keeping his eyes cast down, waiting to be addressed.

The Dark Lord knew he had entered long ago, only now, as he turned  
toward the fire burning in the hearth did he acknowledge him. Ã’Have my instructions been carried  
out?Ã“ He turned to face Wormtail, his red eyes gleaming in the glint of the  
fire, long fingers curled in anticipation. 

The Dark LordÃ•s tone was light, but Wormtail knew better  
than to take his seemed calm for granted.

Ã’We are awaiting a report back from our informants now, My  
Lord.Ã“ WormtailÃ•s voice was low  
and respectful, though the respect never quite reached his eyes; they burned  
with resentment, which is why he kept them cast down always. 

Ã’The time draws near, Pettigrew. I find myself becoming less and less understanding with my  
servants when they cannot fulfill a simple request in a timely fashion.Ã“ VoldemortÃ•s tone was silky and calm,  
but WormtailÃ•s skin crawled just the same.

Wormtail jumped at once. Ã’I live to serve your every desire,  
My Lord.Ã“ He answered a little too  
enthusiastically. Ã’I shall  
retrieve the informant and bring him to you at once, Master.Ã“

Ã’Yes, yes Pettigrew.Ã“ Voldemort replied dismissively, his  
gaze never leaving the fire, Ã’I think I should speak with him directly.Ã“ 

Wormtail squeaked and scurried away, bowing. Ã”Yes My Lord,  
at once, My Lord.Ã“ 

Voldemort turned back to the window now. Even in the heart of summer this part  
of the world remained cold, unforgiving.  
He was holed up in an ancient family castle built eons ago by a Viking  
ancestor of Lucius MalfoyÃ•s on the remote coast of Cape Wrath, between Scourie  
and the Kyle of Durness in Scotland. 

The castle was a virtually impenetrable fortress.  
Unplottable, unseen by muggle eyes due to the many wards and spells cast about  
the extensive grounds and accessible only by foot, or boat - if you dared  
approach the treacherous cliffs to enter the narrowly hewn cave hundreds of  
feet below at the crashing surf line.  
To say it was difficult to get to, even in the best of circumstances was  
an understatement. 

It suited VoldemortÃ•s needs presently; therefore he  
tolerated the deplorable conditions and remote setting. He needed a quiet place where he could  
strategize his plans unhindered - this was ideal. 

He turned eyes to the coast that looked out to the endless  
Atlantic and Voldemort found himself looking at the ocean now, as he did often,  
for hours at a time. He had plans  
for this world, yes — great, great plans. This place — this whole land and all the lands of the  
Earth would be his. 

Ã”Soon, very soon.Ã• he thought. His eyes gleamed with desire.

Ã’Once my obstacles have been removed from my path, and I  
have the final prophecy, all will be in place.Ã“ His gray skin gleamed dully in the hazy sunlight filtering  
in from the window and he looked out again at the ocean sparkling and  
glittering at him like a sea of jewels waiting to be plucked by his very  
hand. 

He laughed, if thatÃ•s what it could  
be called. It was a sound of evil  
enjoyment, of pure malice. 

Ã’Once I have rid my lands of the  
vermin muggles and enslaved the mudbloods as my indentured ones, I will begin  
my rule of perfection, for eternity.Ã“  
He hissed with the thought, cool pleasure and self-confidence settled  
over him. 

Nothing and no one was going to stop  
him from achieving his destiny. 

Ã’Perfection,Ã“ he said softly hissing  
again as he caught his reflection in the glass of the window and smiled. 

**A/N: Dear readers, some have told  
** me it was risky to start a Draco story with Voldy, but I beg to differ. HeÃ•s a big part of the plot. You wonÃ•t see him again for a while,  
but know we know what heÃ•s up too. Give the story a go past Ch 3 and I promise  
the action picks up! 

****

**Authors LOVE feedback — and  
if any of you know ME — you know I THRIVE on it! Much thanks!**


	2. Ch 2 Laurel

A/N: I do not own any Harry Potter Characters, just my Laurel and her family.  
Thank you JKR for your brilliant characters!

CHAPTER 2 - LAUREL

It was a sunny May day and the warm ocean breeze blew Laurel's hair as she gazed out looking at the beautiful California coast line. She always loved the ocean, it soothed her soul like nothing else could and she was anxious today. 

Her school year was almost done and she would be entering next September into her seventh and final year at Pacifica, a prestigious wizarding school on the West Coast of the United States. She was a good student, in the top half of her class. Laurel had a penchant for knowledge and learning. Some said she had a healthy curiosity; some labeled her nosy, to which she took offence. Laurel liked to call it being inquisitive. There was nothing wrong with wanting to know things, to learn things - geeze. 

This attitude was both a great strong point and a vast weakness for her, as it often lured Laurel into trouble. 

For the most part though, she was a normal, well adjusted teenager, albeit a magical one. She had one younger sister, Willow, who was ten and fast becoming a handy little pre-teen witch, showing much promise of great powers, just beginning to manifest themselves. 

Her mother was a witch from a prestigious and age-old wizarding family back in Spain and her father was a muggle American. Her parents, Maggie (short for Magnolia) and John were well off by both standards - wizarding and muggle. John was a high ranking government official that headed the Federal Building in Brentwood and was on the fast track to bigger and more influential posts in the near future, his ties to the White House were very strong. 

Her mother posed as a charitable socialite wife, but in reality was also a high ranking diplomat for the Ministry of Magic, US Bureau. One of her main duties was to visit the Ministry's headquarters in London and oversee the compliance and cooperation between both the European and US West Coast ministry offices. Maggie's position was especially important in this time of heightened alert. There were solid rumors that Voldermort had unearthed a second prophecy, one well hidden and protected. But, Voldemort was persistent and had found a way to get to it. 

With the prophecy in the Dark Lord's possession, he now had the information he needed to begin a battle in earnest, and everyone knew it was imminent, only a matter of time. 

This new knowledge had the Ministry working overtime all over the globe. They had no idea of any so called "second prophecy" though all leads proved this to be true and Ministry officials were frantically using all their covert methods and under-cover intel operatives to discover what the prophecy was, the only thing they knew for certain was that it had something to do with three keys.

Laurel was not privy to most of what was going on in the Ministry and she could care less what silly political mumbo jumbo her dad was steeped in, but her mom wanted her to start thinking about career paths. Maggie and John, "Jack" as he was known to friends and family, were both strongly opposed to her joining the Ministry and becoming an Auror. They felt this would surly prove to be an impossibly dangerous role in the very near future. They were inclined to have her attend a good 4 year muggle college and learn both sides of her heritage and explore all her opportunities. 

Laurel had been singing, dancing and playing the piano since she was very small and was a talented pianist and songstress. She sometimes mused about singing as her career of choice, but the thought of the music industry gave her the creeps. Being brought up in Southern California, Hollywood, she saw the seedy side of the business up close and personal and had little interest in jumping into that vat of boiling oil and besides she didn't much like the spotlight either. 

No, it was looking like a good 4 year college was a tempting idea. Not many knew, but Laurel's family did, that there were subtle, but definite connections between the magical and muggle schooling systems, if you knew where to look, you could easily transition into a muggle college and get the benefit of a non-magical education as well........But, she flip-flopped all the time. 

On the other hand she would make an excellent Auror too, she knew. Laurel was a very powerful witch with the gift of sight, or divination. She had also been doing wandless magic, well as soon as her powers began manifesting themselves, it came naturally to her. (She was currently taking classes with her Headmaster to develop this skill more fully, but she still needed her wand to do the big stuff, it was easier to channel her powers that way.) So, if her choice was to enter the magical world as an Auror she would have to make that decision soon. Her 7th year classes would need to be tailored to give her the best training she could receive before entering an excelled Auror training class immediately upon graduation. She just didn't know which way to turn. 

This was why she sat at the beach today. She needed to think and right now her mind was clouded with childish dreams and grown up expectations, 'If this is growing up, it totally sucks.' She thought. Laurel sighed a weighed sigh and dug her toes into the sand and sat with her knees pulled up to her chin looking out to sea staring at it's shiny glare until her eyes were dull and foggy. She turned to watch the people strolling along the beach - they looked so happy, casually walking or jogging - solitary, hand in hand or with the occasional dog. 'Why can't my life be simple like theirs?' This was a thought that often plagued her. She sometimes wished she didn't have magical powers to deal with on top of all her teenage angst. It was too difficult to bear, especially when your parents and teachers knew how powerful you were. She grumbled and buried her head in her knees and hugged herself close.

If she chose the Auror path she would be sent to London. She already knew this for sure and the thought of leaving her family and her home just didn't seem like an option. But, she felt compelled....no driven?....to become an Auror. Laurel knew her path was set already before her, and she had a suspicion that it was going to be a difficult one.

Looking down now at her watch, 5:30 - she looked back at the ocean, it would be sunset soon she thought as a slight chill ran over her skin, the evening tides bringing in a crisp breeze. Reluctantly she got up, brushing the sand from her pants and headed home. 

She had a date tonight with Don, another wizard who graduated from Pacifica last year and she'd had a COMPLETE crush on him since her 5th year. He was totally cute, tall, dark brown hair, big, clear green eyes, broad shoulders - exactly what she always fell for. Plus, thought she would NEVER admit it, he looked like Harry Potter a little and he wore his hair in the same kind of quirky, spiky, carefree style. She REALLY liked that.

At least tonight would be fun, she thought. Don had not paid any attention to her while he was in school with her and she was totally surprised when he showed up around the campus a few weeks earlier looking for her. He told her he'd been thinking about her a lot lately and asked her out. Since then he had been taking her out almost every weekend. 

Since it was Friday, she thought they'd go catch a movie or just have dinner and hang out, or whatever he wanted, it was just nice to have a date. Although, she couldn't quite ignore the niggling at the back of her mind, in the last few dates she sensed something....different, something changed about his demeanor. She had the feeling he was hiding something from her, which was why she had been very reserved around him. He was always polite, complimentary, funny, even charming. He even kissed her (he was just an ok kisser), but when she got close to look in his eyes he would look away each time. She couldn't put her finger on it and since he never let her get close enough to get a good long look in his eyes she just couldn't tell for sure what it was. 

This worried her as NO ONE knew about her 'soul seeing' ability outside of her immediate family, two teaches and the headmaster of her school, and these three she knew, would never speak about it. Laurel's 'gift of sight' was into a person's soul. Not like hearing your innermost, personal thoughts or anything like that, but she could SEE their souls. They had colors and they radiated out heat as well as their strongest characteristics, like loyalty or courage or a gift of music... Things like that. But she could also see the darkness of a soul. These were totally different, their eyes were dull and black looking inside and they seeped cold from their spirits, like death. 

These happenings were not just something she could see if you were the casual person walking down the street past her, she needed to be close and look deep into a person's eyes. She was still finessing this skill and it took a lot out of her as sometimes strong spirits could overcome her senses,  
flooding her with their emotions. She was still learning to control keeping their emotions from washing over her, almost like their feelings became hers...very powerful stuff and she knew it, so she did her best to treat this ability with great care and respect. 

Anyway, she was becoming kind of bored with Don too and thought, she's probably be calling it off with him pretty soon. But, tonight she'd just have a nice time and forget about the heavy decisions weighing her soul.  
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The Three Keys

1 


	3. Ch 3 Dangerous Don

A/N: I do not own any Harry Potter Characters, just my Laurel and her family and any other characters you don't already recognize. 

CHAPTER 3 - DANGEROUS DON

Don looked in the mirror, already regretting going out this evening. Somehow tonight, he just didn't want to be 'happy-devoted boyfriend guy'. Don was sick of being nicey-nice to the silly mud-blood. He still couldn't believe that she fell for (even in his eyes) a really lame attempt at romancing her. 

He wondered, a chill running through him, if she suspected something? No, he didn't think so, but...maybe? He squared his shoulders and sighed, he had a job to do and he would do it. He would show everyone that he was capable of anything! There was no limit to his possibilities! For now, however he would just have to stomach through tonight, until he was called upon to fulfill his duty. Don had big plans for his life, big plans indeed!

Don Charlaton was a young, handsome 18 year old wizard from a very respectable long line of pure-blood wizards. He had been brought up in a stuffy and pompous home, where his family had little to no association with muggle-born wizards and NEVER muggles. They were not followers of the Dark Lord, but, like so many of their friends, they felt if he were to come back to power it may not be such a bad thing......

Don felt the same as his parents and close friends, though, unbeknownst to his parents, he had taken his conviction to his beliefs a step further - a very serious step further. 

He was inclined to think that mud-bloods were a lower class than he. Although, here in California there were so damn many of them, more than half his school, when he had attended, so many so, that he had to hide those feelings all during his schooling years. Don NEVER ever dated or associated with muggles, no matter how hot they were or what the situation was. Now THEY were below his class and he wouldn't give them a second thought if and when the Dark Lord came roaring back to power and took them all out. 

He sniffed indignantly as he dressed, thinking about seeing Laurel. He had a sick feeling too that she was getting tired of seeing him and may be thinking of breaking up. 

This was not an option. He had to see her as long as necessary. So, if he had to step up the charm a notch he would, although it made him slightly sick to kiss her, even though she was beautiful. She was, after all, half MUGGLE and he just couldn't get it out of his mind that she was somehow dirty. He often would avoid holding her hands or touching her at all, and if he kissed her he did it quick and pulled away fast, never looking her in the eyes, because if he did, he knew she'd see it. Laurel was really smart, he had to give that to her and she was powerful, which made him nervous. She had a much stronger magic than he, (it irked him that a mud-blood was more powerful than he a pure blood wizard!) and he knew from a few of his friends in her grade that her very best class was DADA. 

He shuddered a little, thinking he would have to turn the romance on and actually do a little touching. The thought just sickened him so..... 

As he turned to leave, a large black raven swooped in through his open window. Don froze as it landed with a clatter on his armoire, perched at the very top of it, looking down at him with clear, bright black eyes and presented its scaly leg for him to remove a note tied to it. He paled and thought for a moment it might peck at him, then with shaky hands took the note from the bird. 

It eyed him imperiously and turned with a click of its big, black beak and flew off. There was only one reason he was getting this note he knew. Now that the time had truly come, he was very afraid.

He sat at the edge of his bed and feeling dizzy opened the note and read it. It was written in what looked very suspiciously like blood and had one word written on it, which sent shivers down his spine....'TONIGHT." He stared at the note as a wave of anticipation and fear swept over him and went to put it down on his desk and the note sizzled in his hands making him jump, startled he dropped it and watched as it turned bright red and exploded into flames and vanished.

There was no going back now....He picked up his jacket and left for his date.

Laurel met Don with a big smile on her face, she could see however, immediately that he was not in a good mood. He looked pale and was shaking very slightly as she gave him a warm hug and invited him in. 

Laurel's mom was sitting at her desk working on her computer, glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and looked up smiling at Don. "Hey there Don!" she greeted cheerfully. 

"Hello" he croaked. 

Laurel's little sister was sitting on the couch watching tv and talking on the phone when she turned to look at Don with a big smile on her face. She thought he was really cute, he knew, as she lit up like a Christmas tree every time she saw him, turned red and usually ran away after squeaking out an overly loud greeting. Laurel always laughed she thought it was so funny. She had told Don that she saw on Willow's school folder a big heart with his name on it and scribbles with Mrs. Charlaton on her books. He grew pale as he looked at her and quickly turned away. He was a sad he would not be seeing little Willow again.

Even though he didn't like mud-bloods, he had a soft spot for Willow. She was really very cute and sweet and he knew someday she'd be a real heart breaker, with her honey blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked just like her dad, while Laurel and her mom were dead ringers. 

Thinking about Laurel's mother made him blanch even more. Now she was a powerful witch. Everyone who knew her, knew what she could do and she was in the Ministry. Suddenly, Don wondered what he had gone and gotten himself into. If Laurel's mom even suspected him of anything he knew she'd curse first and ask questions later. She had the connections both magic and muggle to get away with pretty much anything if she put her mind to it. 

He gulped uncomfortably and felt sick.

"Are you feeling all right, Don?" asked Maggie. "You look really very pale. Why don't you come sit down for a minute?" Maggie was observing him closely now, with a strange expression on her face.

He paled even more and managed, in as light a tone as he could muster, "No, no, I'm fine. Just hungry. Ready to go, Laurel?" He looked at her and turned another shade of white, she looked very pretty tonight he thought in her snug red sweater and jeans.

Laurel had her brows furrowed and looked concerned. She reached up and touched his arm and he jerked it away automatically. She looked a little taken aback then and realizing what he'd done, he closed his eyes for a minute to gain composure and then smiled down at her. "I'm sorry! I just, we, we have reservations and if we don't go now, we'll miss them...." He trailed off looking at her hoping she would buy the act.

"Look Don, we don't have to go out tonight if you're not feeling well..." she hesitated, "really it's not a big deal."

"It is a BIG DEAL!" he snapped.

Now Laurel, Maggie and Willow all looked at him surprised. 

"Don, I think you need to sit down for a minute and catch your breath." Maggie was up from her desk now and walking toward him, she stood, arms folded over her chest looking him over closely. "Willow, go get Don a glass of water, please and hang up that phone for heaven's sake."

Willow hung up and slinked away to the kitchen. Don watched her go and looked around the big family room which opened to the kitchen with mild curiosity. He always thought their house was an interesting mix of muggle and magic, he'd always thought that though about mud-blood houses, he saw so few of them. 

"Mrs. Winter, I'm fine really." He was gaining his composure and resolve with each breath. He smiled warmly at Willow and downed the water handing her back the empty glass. "Thanks Willow." He managed another smile and winked at her and she blushed prettily.

"You sure you're okay, Don?" Laurel looked less than happy. "I think we should maybe get together tomorrow instead."

"No, no really." Here he smiled and gave her a little hug around the waist and looked down at her.

'Just a moment longer,' Laurel thought looking into his eyes, then Don looked away and smiled at her mom. 'Dammit!'

"OK then, if you're sure you feel up to dinner." Laurel looked doubtful, so did Maggie.

"Why don't you kids have dinner here tonight?" Maggie suggested.

"You know what Mom, that's a great idea!" Laurel beamed. "I'll even cook." She looked at Don; all the color had gone out of his face.

"Good, it's settled then." Maggie answered, her tone final.

Don looked determined. "But, we have reservations at this really great restaurant..." he stammered, "And, and I've been trying to get in for weeks... It was supposed to be a surprise."

Laurel looked at her mom and Maggie looked concerned. "Who's driving?" Maggie asked.

"Well, I was going to...but if you feel more comfortable, Laurel can drive." Even all-magical households drove cars, after all they were in Southern California, EVERYONE has a car there.

Laurel sighed. "All right. Let's go and then it's off to bed for you, so you feel better." She gave him a weak smile then turned to her mom. "I'll be home early Mom. Later Wil!" She waved to Willow and Don said good bye.

Don looked suddenly very upset, but stayed quiet.

"OK." Maggie gave her daughter a kiss and off they went.

A/N: Dear friends, please take a moment to drop a quick review and say hello. Also, if you've not put me back on your author alert list, please remember to!

Thanks and Cheers - Lorett

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The Three Keys

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